Ryan ChartrandA day after debating with Adam Hill, Jerry Lenthall reached out to Hill’s workplace.
Hill, an English lecturer at Cal Poly, is running for supervisor of San Luis Obispo County’s third district against the incumbent Lenthall, who’s trying to earn a second term at the June 3 primary.
Lenthall, a 1972 industrial technology graduate of Cal Poly, greeted students Thursday morning in the University Union, where his campaign held a booth offering voter registration forms along with giveaways including hamburgers and sodas and pro-Lenthall T-shirts, bumper stickers and campaign signs.
“It’s kind of like coming home for me,” Lenthall said.
The Cal Poly College Republicans helped facilitate the hour-long effort through which 14 people registered to vote and more than 200 burgers were served, according to Amber Johnson, Lenthall’s campaign manager.
Connecting with students is “very important,” Lenthall said, as Cal Poly is a “big part of (the) local economy.”
While Hill may seem to have a built-in advantage with Cal Poly students, his working at Cal Poly had “no relationship” with holding the rally, Lenthall said, adding he’s visited the campus in the past, including four years ago during his initial campaign.
Still, his presence at Cal Poly could mean more this time given Hill’s status.
“It’s really important he comes here and meets students so they get to know him on a political level,” said microbiology senior Jennifer Gilmore, a member of the Cal Poly College Republicans board of directors. “Maybe then they’ll go back to Adam Hill and ask him important questions instead of just going into the booth and thinking, ‘I had him’ and filling in (Hill’s) bubble.”
Lenthall, who said he worked for more than three decades in law enforcement, touted his experience over Hill’s.
“Professor Hill is a part-time English lecturer,” he said. “I’ve been in public service and government all my life.”
On Wednesday, the candidates vying to supervise the district spanning Pismo Beach, Grover Beach, Avila Beach and parts of San Luis Obispo debated before a reportedly standing-room-only crowd of about 80 at The Tribune’s offices in San Luis Obispo.
Most of the students attracted to the rally Thursday, however, seemed to be more interested in the free offerings at the booth than politics.
“I’m here just for the food,” said aerospace engineering senior Joey Sanchez, a registered Independent who characterized his views as “very left.”
But Sanchez, who said he was unaware Lenthall was competing with a Cal Poly professor, said he appreciated a local politician’s initiative to familiarize with students who may lack an understanding of local affairs and representatives.
“Maybe the Democrats should have (had) something right next to it,” Sanchez said.
Bryan McDonald, a kinesiology freshman registered Republican, also said he primarily lined up for food and was unaware of Hill, but thought the event could increase political interest among students.
“I’m not positive who I’ll vote for, but I’ll look into it,” McDonald said.
The Cal Poly College Republicans, Gilmore said, will put on a similar event for fifth district supervisor candidate Debbie Arnold in coming weeks.